19th January 2017

Trumping Trump

2016 was weird. Really weird. Some questionable stuff happened and we all had to find a way of dealing with it. For some people that meant finding new sources of hope and optimism, for others it meant putting the president-elect’s face on a whoopee cushion.

With the most controversial inauguration in history taking place tomorrow and as we brace ourselves for four years of the Donald, we’re trying to make the most of a rough situation and are thrilled to announce the addition of the Trump Cushion to The Z List. When dealing with despair it’s usually the designers and artists of the world that find flecks of humour among the emotional rubble and bring them into focus for us. The Trump Cushion is a case in point. Brainchild of quick-witted duo Nick Bell and Eoin Glaister, this opportunity to “put your rump on Trump” was brought to fruition with a little help from established designer and art director Freddy Taylor, whose design expertise turned the idea into the thing, and comedy illustrator Mr Bingo, who is the steady hand behind this particular presidential portrait.

We asked Nick, Eoin and Freddy to share their thoughts on working together and surviving the last 12 months armed with a sense of humour and purpose.

Hi Nick & Eoin, we love this project, but where on earth did you get the inspiration?

E: The idea came to Nicholas on the 435 bus. I believe this is also where Mr Dyson first

conceived the table top vacuum cleaner. With hindsight/a little post rationalisation one

could argue that the bus, the Trump Cushion and Donald are all large, noisy and full of

nasty gases, so perhaps his location was more inspiring than he thought.

N: Eoin and I regularly send hair-brained get rich quick schemes to each other so a quick

phone call and we were off. This one sat between a recession busting cereal called ‘Credit

Crunchies' and ‘Nigel Fromage' — an exceptionally stinky cheese served up in the shape of

Farage’s head. We decided to follow through with this one and give all the money to

charity. Back to the drawing board on the rich quick front.

How did you two meet and how did you end up working together? Is there a romantic first date story to match this triumphant collaborative debut?

This is our first product together and this year saw our 21st anniversary as pals. Our first date would have been aged seven when we sat next to each other in class. This pairing proved disruptive, however, and we were promptly separated. In West Philadelphia, born and raised, the play ground was where we spent most of our

days….you know the rest.

The concept is genius and the inclusion of comedy king Mr Bingo is even smarter. How

did the initial pitch to him go?

We knew the illustration would be key and so stole Bingo’s mobile phone number and dropped him cold text. The initial pitch went like this:

10.03am, Us: “Hi! Fancy illustrating Trumps face for us so we can stick it on a Whoopee

Cushion and sell it for charity?”

10.04am, Mr Bingo: “Where do I sign? #fucktrump”

He’s a hero.

Freddy Taylor is something of a creative powerhouse. How did you end up working

together?

We've known Freddy for a while. Powerhouse is the right word. Similarly to Bingo he was

super happy to help trump Trump. Check out another of his brilliant collaborations

spintheaub.com — a recent project with the equally talented Anna Ginsburg.

What has been your favourite response to the project?

Republican politician Mark Zetzer got in touch with Freddy to show his (lack of) support. Clear evidence that we were onto a winner. Maisie Williams also backed us, which was

cool.

As we watch Trump become President we all need cheering up, can you tell us

something that will make us smile?

Only a few days ago a story broke about him weeing on Russian women. It looks like that was

actually a fake story. But hey, never let truth get in the way of a good story. Donald

certainly doesn’t.

How does it feel to be part of The Z List? Spotted anything you like?

We are honoured and excited in equal measure. We’ve spotted loads of incredible things

on the site and are chuffed to be surrounded by such awesome talent. Edible

experimental mice are genius.

Hello Freddy, art director and designer, you boast an impressive portfolio of work and employers! What made you want to take on a project that involved creating a whoopee cushion with Trump’s face on?

F: First, doing work for “good” as often as possible is something I believe in, so when the chance to ridicule the Donald creatively, while raising cash for specific charities arose, I got very excited. Second, the opportunity to collaborate with a dream creative team: Mr Bingo, Luke Stephenson, Thomas Burden and Richard Cook.

What was the biggest challenge in the project?

Breaking America. We did our best to make as much noise as possible and get the Trump Cushion some attention over there but alas, we didn't.

Do you remember the first time you sat on Trump’s face?

Yes. We were in a Turkish restaurant and we'd just received the first prototypes from China. We behaved like little school boys.

The project has been a huge hit, what’s your favourite response to it been?

I got a personal bit of hate mail from an ex-Republican candidate, Mark Zetzer. It seems we'd touched a nerve.

Do you have anything exciting coming up you can tell us about?

I've been working on the first Wieden+Kennedy Sainsbury's launch campaign. It's been six months in the making, it launches next week and I'm in it.

How does it feel to be part of The Z List? Spotted anything you like?

Very proud, there's such a brilliant, eclectic mix of objects. The 'U' Cup is gorgeous.

Get your own Trump Cushion from The Z List for only £5. All proceeds go to charity.